Above Photo: (C) www.tonychu.com Tony Chu
Blasting
into the new year, time for a fresh interview with Stunt Action
Specialist Tamiko Brownlee. Tamiko is one of the most down to earth
people in the business, ready to work hard, give 110 percent, and
she thrives on extreme action! Tamiko has so many projects on her
plate between 2014 and 2015, we decided to wait and blast out this
2500 word interview. Here it is fresh for 2015, right when her new material is ready to air!
Sit back, relax, and check the textual ass whipping from the sultry
and talented Tamiko, and watch for her all over your TV and theater
screen in 2015, get ready for it! 3-2-1 GO!
Above Photo: Tamiko and I 2013 on American Ninja Warrior Set (C) 2013 Dan's Movie Report
Chat
about some of your background, what sports did you participate in
when younger?
Growing
up, my father put all of the kids in martial arts – Taekwondo I
know I wanted to take gymnastics down the street instead but in
hindsight, I'm glad that I took martial arts. Actually, I wish I
could have done both!
In
middle school, I played softball and volleyball and ran track. I did
a few years of gymnastics and drill team when I was in high school as
well. I wanted to participate in wrestling instead of gymnastics but
it wasn't allowed back then at my school (though now that's changed).
In
college, I wanted to learn to be more graceful and I was humbled when
I took my first hip hop class. After that first class, I was
determined to be a dancer and I threw myself in every class I could
find from hip hop, jazz, modern and ballet, so I understudied with a
dance group in Seattle at the time called Street Level, and after a
year or so I was allowed to be one of the group members....I was so
honored! I ended up minoring in Dance at the University of Washington
and toyed with the idea of maybe attending Cornish College of the
Arts one Day.
A
few years back, I spent some time in Cape Town, South Africa with my
Dad's side of the family. While there, I wanted to keep in shape thus
I ended up training in Muay Thai at Dragon Power. I realized how much
I really loved martial arts and I decided then that I wanted to start
training in it again.
When
I moved to Los Angeles, I looked for people and places to train
martial arts. I've been so grateful to all whom have taken the time
to teach me and help me along on this journey. Some of my favorite
place to train now are at Simon Rhee's and LA Wushu (but I'll always
miss training with the Shaolin martial artists/monks) :-).
You
have quite a diverse background quite a winding road to action. What
made you decide ultimately to get into the stunt realm? Was there a
person or people who helped you along the way?
Many
moons ago, I was introduced to a very talented martial artist named
Arnold Chon. A good friend of mine, Tammie Baird, told me about
him and said if I wanted to get a lot better with my technique and
kicks then I needed to train with him. He was actually the one
who helped me figure out how to be a better performer because movie
martial arts is very different from what I've trained in. He
helped me by having me attend an audition for The Last Airbender.
I was lucky enough to be chosen and was then tafted into the SAG
union....thus my stunt career was born. A lot of people along
the way throughout the years have helped me out, been patient and
guided me -- Glen Levy, Ron Yuan, Ming Qiu, Kerry Wong, Jeff
Habberstad and Sam Hargrave are just some of the people I'll never
forget.
Above Photo: (C) www.tonychu.com Tony Chu
I
noticed you had many episodes of stunt work on 'Hawaii 5-0', maybe share
a funny onset story. How much fun was it in Hawaii?
Yes!
I was fortunate enough to work the first two season on the show. I
met some awesome people working on that show too. Actually,
last month I was able to be brought back for fight doubling again.
Nothing like being in Hawaii. :-) I think most of our funny
stories would be the ones made off set hanging out....like at
Yardhouse and Sansei! HAHAHA! Hawaii is amazing....great food,
nice people and wonderful weather. It's definitely paradise out
there and very relaxing.
Yes
is '5-0' is amazing, Bob Orci and the rest of the creators have
excellent ideas. Shifting gears a bit, chat about stunts that involve several takes
to get the perfect shot, and look for the camera, chat about an
instance onset of any TV show or movie that the stunt was challenging
to complete, describe the stunt...
Oh
man, sometimes a lot more than needed for sure! Most of the time it
comes down to timing of everything -- camera, cars, explosions,
people, angles, lighting, sound... I can't think of anything
off hand really. The only thing that comes to mind is the fight scene
I got to do against Esteban Cueto for The Originals. We were
vampires who were fighting for the daylight ring. We had such a
fun time working out the fight! There was one part of the fight
where I doing a punch at Esteban's head and he ducks under to then
slam me down to the 'concrete'. That slam was a good ole flat back!
The only thing was that my wardrobe was that of a sport bra and
pants....no place for pads there! He's a pretty tall guy so that was
at least 5 plus feet up!!! I think we did that about 7 times...fun
fun fun! :D
That is also my favorite fight you did, wow 7 times, no pain no gain haha! Share
a story from True Blood, must have been a blast working on that
popular show.
Man,
I've had a great opportunity to work on 'True Blood' a few times. The
first time was to do a MMA style fight that was pretty cool and
unfortunately got edited down to a much smaller fight (all the fun
awesome parts were edited out too). That was the first time I
got to work with Mike Massa (who was the coordinator of the show at
the time). We had a blast and spend a lot of time on that
fight. I also got to come back and double the same actress for
a different episode but a different fight and that was awesome.
One story from that was that I had to throw a kick to the actress's
face and she had to catch my foot with her hand. I remember
when we worked on the choreo, she went to catch my foot with her
thumb sticking out and in my head I panicked (I saw my whole career
going down in flames as I would have at least sprained or broken her
thumb) but the split second decision to pull back on my kick saved
me! Whew!!!
Above Photo: (C) www.tonychu.com Tony Chu
Note to self, some actresses can be fragile, Tamiko, she is damn near indestructible! Do
you have a favorite type of stunt you like to do, fighting, falling,
etc..
One
that doesn't end up causing injury! HA! (Ed Note: Ain't that the damn truth!)
Usually
I feel most comfortable fighting and hitting the ground. I'm always
trying to learn new ways to hit the ground making it look painful
without it actually being too bad. I also like weapon work but I know
I need more work with that as well since I don't train it as often as
I should. Wires are fun too depending on the actual stunt. I
would also like to do more driving and sliding of cars, that is
another thing I plan to do more training on as well:-)
What
was the hardest stunt you had to do for a film or TV show, describe
the set up and stunt.
I
really haven't had the opportunity to do super hard stunts....yet.
Usually the choreography is tricky (fights) and it challenges me to
get out of my comfort zone. One of my weaknesses is trying to do
choreo that is not my style....it's frustrating and rewarding, but I
get in my head too much and way over think a lot of things. I think
the hardest thing for me to do is get out of my head most of the time
and to stop being my biggest critic.
Who
are some of the directors, actors, and actresses you would like to
work with, but haven't yet?
There
are many many people, shows and directors I would love to work for.
One of them that comes to mind is of course Clint Eastwood....what a
legend! There are many I wish I could have worked for whom have
passed on too.
Yes
Clint is a legend, shifting gears again, chat about the transition from
stunts to acting, I saw you did a short film called 'Reverse
Mugging', with a bit of humorous dialogue and action.
I
have thought about making the transition more into action acting. I
think with a little more training in acting that will be something I
can do more often. Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy not being the 'face'
:D I
would never turn down a great opportunity to work as a stunt actor, and I
have been working on my acting!
Well
you have a head start with good facial expressions and clear speaking
voice. Shifting back to stunts, chat about learning a variety of new
stunts, what tricks have you learned in the past couple of years? Any
stunts you want to try but haven't?
I've
always wanted to be better at gymnastics skills. I worked hard at
wanting to be able to pull off a back handspring and a back flip.
I've done both and have it on video to remind myself that I have the
ability to do so. One of the other skills I want to get back under my
belt would be the butterfly twist I landed one a few years back, but
haven't landed one since because my ankle was injured for a long
while, it's about time to try it again!
Chat
about your hobbies, what do you like to do in your downtime?
Hahaha... it's
funny because my downtime is usually spent working out and training.
Lately, I have been getting into more running and doing events. I have
about 10 races planned for 2015 and hoping I can do them all (or
most) if I'm available to. Participating in the running events helps
me get out of my head, and stop thinking so much, focus on the
movement and action. Plus it a great way to keep in shape.
What
are some of you future goals in Hollywood?
I
have been thinking about it for awhile... I need to spend more time
with the camera and working on my fights. Right now I would love to
shadow different coordinators to see how it all comes together.
There is so much work and thought put into the action scenes, it's
amazing to see it all connect. I would also get back to doing hosting
as I used to host for a small company when I first moved to LA. I
got to interview several times on red carpet premieres and also got to
interview a few bands as well.
Above Pic: Tamiko behind the scenes in Transformers 4, as an action bride!
Yes
you are a natural for hosting, and that is a slightly less dangerous
job hahaha then being slammed to the ground by a big guy. Shifting the conversation, discuss working on 'Transformers 4'.
Working
on 'T4' was a great experience really. I would joke about how we all "survived" working on 'T4' but it's true. You had to be so on point
with your focus, and always pay attention. Michael Bay really knows
what he is doing, and is brilliant. He knows so much and it's hard to
convey what is in his head/his thoughts/his vision. There is so much
going on in one scene -- cars flipping, cars sliding, cars racing
around, people running, things falling, explosions, mortar blasts
going off, and all the while cameras are moving and camera cars racing around the sets.
It was quite a rush!
Yes,
if you are a person who likes action, Michael Bay knows the scenes and
is active in participation. Shifting gears, chat about your recent
experience in India on 'Kaththi', working conditions, very hot I
assume. where you stayed areas you visited.
India
was such a great experience. I'm really glad that I got the
opportunity to go to another country and see how they do things. They
were really sweet and accommodating as well. I was so happy to be
able to experience another culture and try the food. Yes, it was also
very hot and humid which was fun in itself. :-)
We
didn't have much of any down time while we were there, we had a tight shooting
schedule. When we were done working, we didn't have much time to
sight see. It's quite hard to sight see at night. We did go to the
longest beach there, I think it was called the Marina Beach, but it
was at night so there wasn't really anything but darkness!!
Chat
about the amazing fight scene posing as a journalist camera person,
how long did it take to prepare?
That
was a great fight scene that we did in Chennai, India I took about a
week or so of work to film. We didn't have rehearsal days, we just flew
in and worked the following day up until the morning before we left!
It was so great to see how the stunt coordinator there visualized
everything. To see how it all came together was awesome! They really
like their slow motion too.
The
fight was pretty cool, and it is up on YouTube. Chat about working on
the new series 'Stalker', seems like you are doing a bunch of action
on the show doubling Maggie Q.
Maggie
Q is quite talented. She really does pretty much all her fighting
herself. I am used to work through the fights on rehearsal days, and
on the day of filming as well. If there is anything that may hurt her
then they will insert me into the scene where needed. She's very nice
and I enjoy having the opportunity to work for her and always look
forward to it as well.
Good
thing that Tamiko is virtually indestructible, haha! Yes, seriously Maggie has
done some really quality work on American films and TV, I would enjoy the opportunity to interview her. Shifting the topic, chat about some additional stunt skills you would like to add
to your arsenal in 2015?
I
would love to practice more on various skills, including: weapon
work, hand speed, martial arts basics, cleaning up and making my
kicks faster, better falls and of course the driving! Also, I would
like to do more acting and hosting.
You
have a clear speaking voice and a bright personality, a natural for
hosting. Wrapping up the interview, discuss various new projects in
the works for 2015, what exciting action is on deck for Tamiko?
There
are several projects that I have my hand in right now. Most of them I
can't disclose (of course). But you can be on the look out for
episode 5.14 of 'Hawaii Five-O', episodes 5.17 and 5.19 of 'Pretty
Little Liars', 'Insurgent' and several other projects in the works! I
will keep you posted.
Above Photo: Tamiko in Hawaii Five-0! (C) 2015 CBS promotional use only
Thank
you so much for your time with this detailed interview Tamiko, I am
sure 2015 will be amazing for you, Dan's Movie Report will be first
on scene to cover it, exclusively as always!
Check out Tamiko's new official site at www.tamikx.com In
addition to her various action and stunt work, she has two recent short films available on YouTube
that showcase her extraordinary ability in action and adaptability.
